The present invention relates generally to apparatus and process for packaging articles, in particular fragile articles such as food items.
A major problem in the handling of fragile articles, such as sharp and/or fragile food articles, is the actual initial packaging of the fragile article, once the food article has been processed.
For example, it has become popular to package certain meat articles, which are generally known to be particularly perishable and prone to spoilage and contamination, in a vacuum-packed plastic bag, and then frozen, for long-term storage. The vacuum-packed plastic bag closely follows the contours of the food item, so that no air is trapped. This helps prevent the occurrence of oxidation of the meat product, prior to complete freezing, helps preclude freezer burn, and generally improves the overall condition of the food product.
Unfortunately, some meat articles, particularly those still having the bone in place after processing, are problematic to package in such vacuum-packed plastic bags. This is because the often rather sharp-edged bones in the meat product have substantial potential for puncturing or cutting through the plastic bag, if the meat product is handled roughly. In fact, handling procedures which would otherwise be acceptable for other packaged meat articles, such as ground beef, steaks, etc. produce unacceptably high numbers of failed packages, for meat articles such as rib sides, loins, etc. These failed packages translate into spoiled food articles, meaning lost profits and wasted resources.
The typical prior art method of packaging such meat articles, which has led to such high losses, is to butcher, dress and otherwise process the meat and vacuum pack it in plastic. Containers, such as may be fabricated from corrugated paperboard material, are erected, and delivered to a location near the end of the processing line for the meat articles. The meat articles are then manually loaded into the containers, typically by dropping the articles from a height above the container. Dropping the articles causes the bone in the meat to pierce the bag, leading to loss of that particular food article.
It has additionally been observed that by spreading the packaging and handling process of such fragile articles out over a large area and span of time, introduces a greater likelihood of damage to the article, by increasing the opportunities for damage to occur.
It would be desirable, therefore, to develop a process for packaging of fragile articles, such as fragile food articles, without needing to drop the articles into previously erected container.
It would also be desirable to develop a process for packaging fragile articles, which would reduce the amount of physical manual handling of the article.
It is an object of the present invention, therefore, to provide a process and apparatus for the packaging of fragile articles, in which the amount of physical manual handling of the articles is reduced.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a process and apparatus for the packaging of fragile articles, which reduces the size of the area and number of steps required in the process for packaging the fragile articles.
These and other objects of the invention will become apparent in light of the present specification, claims and drawings.